I have read from people who are desperate looking to lower the lamp output of their enlargers, because printing times are too small... It`s also my case. Sometimes, if the negative is not dense enough, (with say, a 75watts lamp on a Beseler CIII), I`m having times of a very few seconds at f8.
Most of my negatives are printed to about 10" on the long side (sometimes 14"). I have had to use some awkward tricks (now, thanks God with different low power LED lamps), to extend exposure times when dodging and burning, where I need at least 15 to 20 seconds to work with a minimal comfort and accuracy levels.
Well, I`ve been looking at the "modernenlargerlamps.com" site, and found the following data about one of their LED based heads:
"Super Bright - Brighter than a 75 watt incandescent bulb, enlarging times are close to those of a 150 watt bulb."
What`s the deal with it? If I use, e.g., an f4 Apo-Rodagon lens, with an optimal aperture at f5.6-8, at best I`ll get enlarging times around 4-8 seconds! Looks like manufacturers put all the enphasis on the highest possible brightness, to shorten the exposure time to the limit... instead of offering low brightness options. I wonder why, I have never understood it.
So, I question myself if I`m doing something wrong.
What do you think? Are my negatives maybe too soft? Are the "enlarger lamps" designed for much larger enlargements? What is your experience?
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